Nevin makes quick ascent to the big leagues

Michelle Nevin will have her first Breeders' Cup starter with By the Moon, who's entered in the Juvenile Fillies.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Michelle Nevin always thought that one day she would go out on her own and be a trainer. Just not the day, or in the way, that it happened.

On Jan. 24, 2013, after exhausting his legal appeals, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. – for whom Nevin worked for more than a decade – began serving a 10-year suspension handed him by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board. It left Nevin in charge of more than 65 horses stabled between New York and south Florida.

With the first starter to run under her name, Teaks North, Nevin won the $300,000 Sunshine Millions Turf at Gulfstream Park.

Twenty-one months later, Nevin won the Grade 1 Frizette with By the Moon, who will be her first starter in a Breeders’ Cup race when she runs in Saturday’s $2 million Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita.

“The way I started off was probably not the norm,” Nevin said during a recent interview in her Belmont office. “It was a little hectic at first, but the horse part of it is the same because it’s the same thing I’ve always done. It was just a lot more phone calls, a lot more responsibilities; that might have come as a little bit of a challenge at first, but that worked itself out.”

Despite her instant success, Nevin watched the stable drop to 16 horses as some owners went elsewhere. A few owners like Jimmy Riccio Sr., Vincent Scuderi, and Samantha Siegel, the owner of By the Moon, stayed with her.

“I knew I wanted to give her some horses,” said Riccio, one of the sharper claiming owners in the sport. “Her time being with Rick, she knew what she was doing. Her opinion was on point a lot of the time.”

Nevin, 37, was born into racing. She grew up on a farm in Fethard, Ireland. Her grandfather, Richard, trained horses, and her father, Michael, rode horses in Ireland before ultimately training in America.

At age 16, Michelle Nevin came to the United States and worked for Leo O’Brien in New York. She then got a job with Kiaran McLaughlin, who would split his time in New York and Dubai. Nevin went with McLaughlin to Dubai.

“She was a very good exercise rider and worked a lot of our horses because she worked them well coming from America, where we go 36, 48, and 1:00 better than some of the Europeans,” McLaughlin said.

When she came back to the United States, Nevin worked for her dad, Michael, who was stabled at Aqueduct a barn away from Dutrow. Her father only had a handful of horses, and Nevin would go to Dutrow’s barn and get on some horses in the morning. When Nevin’s father retired, she became a full-time exercise rider for Dutrow.

“He was absolutely amazing to watch around a horse,” Nevin said of Dutrow. “Just his demeanor around horses; horses like him. I feel like he’s got a sixth sense.

“One of the biggest things I learned from Rick was the horse has to be happy, he has to look healthy, he has to be acting right,” Nevin said. “Even if it’s a $5,000 claimer or it’s a stakes horse, you have to really see what that horse is looking for, what does he need? It doesn’t matter how much the horse cost, you got to treat them the right way. You got to give them the best of everything to try to make their lives happy.”

Nevin got on many of Dutrow’s top horses, including Big Brown, who went on to win the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness. But one of her favorites was Kip Deville, the winner of the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Monmouth and a multiple Grade 1 winner in Southern California.

“I really, really loved Kip Deville,” Nevin said. “We were out in California together. I just really loved being around him, galloping him. I flew every place with him. Big Brown is obviously more on everybody’s lips, but watching him run on the grass, I just loved it.”

Another horse Nevin got on for Dutrow was By the Light, a New York-bred filly who won 10 of 20 races, including nine stakes. By the Moon is By the Light’s second foal.

“I used to gallop her mother, and I loved her,” Nevin said. “She was a New York-bred who was really talented. It’s so amazing that here we are a couple of years later, and I’m training her daughter, and she’s just been a pleasure from Day 1. Now her daughter’s taking me to the Breeders’ Cup. It’s a thrill.”

By the Moon is owned by Siegel’s Jay Em Ess Stable, which also owned By the Light. Though based in California, Siegel wanted a presence in New York and had horses with Dutrow. When Dutrow got suspended, she opted to stick with Nevin.

“I liked the idea of continuity. I liked the idea of being with somebody I already knew,” Siegel said. “I knew Michelle. She was a very hard worker. A lot of [Dutrow’s] help was going with her. It was a good team.”

By the Moon is somewhat of a wild card in the Juvenile Fillies. She won her debut sprinting on a fast track, but her last two races – a well-beaten second in the Grade 1 Spinaway and a win in a slowly run Frizette – were run over wet tracks.

“You can’t make a black-and-white decision with her because she’s unknown,” Nevin said. “It’s unfortunate that every time she ran, she caught a wet track, but she’s trained on a good, fresh track every day that she’s been here. From the very beginning, I liked her. She showed she was something more, so we’re just going to have to wait and see, watch her run, and hope she handles it.”

Nevin learned King of the Cheats in the east Rick Dutrow. Just like Rudy R. another cheater. People that believe that Nevin and Rodriguez are great horse people are either drunk or stupid or maybe both.

Steve

More than 1 year ago

You people think cheating is reserved for the trainers who are @ the larger venues ? UM NO!..check out the way some jockeys ride @ places like ZIA,Charlestown,and Delta...Jockeys are constantly pulling horses and stunningly not even asking their horses to run @ any time,especially sprinters going long, just sitting on them the whlole race.The stewards turn a blind eye,which surprises no one .It is what it is and has been for awhile.

Ray Sousa

More than 1 year ago

This lets canonize DUTHROW piece is a joke...doing the right thing by a horse includes not having him doped ..
TOM AMOS was on tvg throwing smoke on the drug issue as all trainers do .treating the public as if they were too stupid to understand the difference between a mistake in the barn and doping. Fact is most people know who the cheats are and are usually vindicated when they get caught and are suspended. They know these guy are not simply making overage mistakes at the barn because they are repeat offenders and because of the miracles they perform ..rudy rodrigues,doug oneill ,duthrow,jacobson,passero,assmussen,ness,wells,lake.etc are/where not simply making a bunch of mistakes by giving their horses bigger doses of legal meds over and over..the fact that the industry and other trainers are not up in arms about the cheating and actually go out of their way to defend and excuse those that do cheat is perplexing.
the scandal being investigated by the feds at PENN national should be on the front page of the racing form. with various trainers implicated in race fixing. one has already pleaded guilty. There seem to be allegations of horses shocked during training and even cash for stables have been mentioned in reports. you would think this was news worth reporting and condemning. But hardly a mention.

Natasha

More than 1 year ago

Nevin got on for Dutrow was By the Light
for the info site... ----->>> www．Work4Hour．com

michael c

More than 1 year ago

Same circus, different clowns.

ohara_dustin

More than 1 year ago

Lauren robinson is very happy for yA she's my friend told me she worked with you

Quite a

More than 1 year ago

Wonder what Dutrow is doing these days? One of the posters below claims that Nevin is Dutrow's girfriend. Kinda takes the edge off a rather inspiring piece.

mike

More than 1 year ago

Cheap shot!

Ken Wiener

More than 1 year ago

'Her time being with Rick, she knew what she was doing". Yes, nothing beats working with the best.

Nick Esler

More than 1 year ago

Michelle Nevin is one of the best Horsewomen/men in the world. The fact that her rise to the top level of the game in such a short time is a credit to that. Michelle looks after her horses better than anyone could ever imagin, any horse would be lucky to be in her care ! If you are ignorant to the way Michelle trains then you should bite your lip and hold your comments. She works extremely hard and deserves all the luck and success. I wish her the best in the BC.

Pete Sundar

More than 1 year ago

So here comes Esler to Nevin's defense, a budding "super trainer" himself at a win rate of about 27 % after - only two years on the circuit. Until a true trainer the likes of Mcgaughey, Jerkens or Tagg vouch for the veracity of Nevin, you can quickly discount this Johnny-come-lately. Esler, I used to bet horses with your master - Clive Brittain ( Averof, Radetzky,Pebbles etc ) before you were born. He would never make such a hyperbolic statement as you just did. Perhaps, you should stick to comparing notes with Rudy, Nevin and Jacobson.

kmunster2003

More than 1 year ago

Pete:
I agree with you. Just as cops protect cops physicians protect physicians , a definite "good ole' boys and girls network. Not much objectivity for sure. Horse racing like the VA hospital system, UNC academic scandal and others needs more whistleblowers to uncover chicanery. Take care Kevin

Joel Firsching

More than 1 year ago

is this an advertisement for dutrow ?

kmunster2003

More than 1 year ago

Well he is the "mastermind" behind both Nevin and R. Rodriguez. Can you imagine they both have higher win percentages then Mott and McCaughey for the year. That tells one all about "modern" horse racing . Poor Barclay Tagg and Pat kelly no shot most races. Take care Kevin

Joel Firsching

More than 1 year ago

It is scary how Rudy and Jacobson improve horses 25 points like belle gallantey who is in the distaff.